When I first sat down to write this piece, I was determined to point out how the usually draft savvy Dallas Cowboys had really boned it on this one. However, what I found was four of the eight picks in the 2004 NFL Draft have either moved on to other teams or are out of football altogether after only three years. Only one of the remaining four was an every week starter. I thought, …well that’s kinda crappy and then I noticed that three of the four players still with the team were selected in the seventh round. I figured they’re probably practice squad guys who are playing in NFL Europa or something, right? …Man, I hate when I’m wrong this much!
Cornerback Nathan Jones from Rutgers was the 205th player taken overall that year, wide receiver Patrick Crayton out of N.W. Oklahoma State was selected 216th overall, and cornerback Jacques Reeves from Purdue was acquired with the 223rd pick. So What!! Right??
As it turns out, these three guys can really play. After not getting very much playing time in their rookie seasons, they have become solid players garnering them defined roles on the team with significant playing time. Both Jacques Reeves and Nathan Jones have developed into good “nickel package” DBs and special teams performers, while wide out Patrick Crayton has quietly moved into the third receiver spot behind veterans Terry Glenn and Terrell Owens. Crayton played in all sixteen games last season, starting seven of them with 36 catches for 516 yards and 4 touchdowns to go with 11 punt returns for a 7.7 yard average.
The remaining member of the 2004 draft class that is currently with the team is the “robotic” starting running back Julius Jones out of Notre Dame. Over his first three seasons in the NFL, Jones has proven to be a serviceable running back, but appears to lack the star power that usually comes with being THE running back in Dallas.
The bottom line for the Cowboys is… they have proven, once again, that they have the ability to use draft weekend to get more with less than most other teams in the league.
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One Response
Robert Bryant
June 23rd, 2007 at 9:07 am
1Very nice article about the Cowboys draft. Nathan Jones and Jacques Reeves have been able to stick in the league a while and that in itself says something, but they sure haven’t received much playing time and time is not on their side. I think this is a make or break year for both of those guys. I wrote a little about them here:
http://www.nfldraftdog.com/NFL%20Team%20Columns/dallas_cowboys_nfl_team_column.htm
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